Summary
Individuals with inherited factor VII (FVII) deficiency display bleeding phenotypes
ranging from mild to severe, with 30% of patients having always been asymptomatic
(non-bleeding). In 626 FVII-deficient individuals, by analysing data from the International
Factor VII (IF7) Registry and the Seven Treatment Evaluation Registry (STER), we determined
whether bleeding type at disease presentation and FVII coagulant activity (FVIIc)
predict ensuing bleeds. At disease presentation/diagnosis, 272 (43.5%) individuals
were non-bleeding, 277 (44.2%) had minor bleeds, and 77 (12.3%) had major bleeds.
During a median nine-year index period (IP) observation, 87.9% of non-bleeding individuals
at presentation remained asymptomatic, 75.1% of minor-bleeders had new minor bleeds,
and 83.1% of major-bleeders experienced new major bleeds. After adjusting for FVIIc
levels and other clinical and demographic variables, the relative risk (RR) for ensuing
bleedings during the IP was 6.02 (p <0.001) and 5.87 (p <0.001) in individuals presenting
with major and minor bleeds, respectively. Conversely, compared to non-bleeding individuals,
a 10.95 (p = 0.001) and 28.21 (p <0.001) RR for major bleedings during the IP was
found in those with minor and with major bleeds at presentation, respectively. In
conclusion, in FVII deficiency, the first major bleeding symptom is an independent
predictor of the risk of subsequent major bleeds.
Keywords
Asymptomatic individuals - minor bleeds - major bleeds - factor VII deficiency